[Read Full Article]2014 NBA Draft Combine Measurements AnalysisMay 15, 2014Patric Young: The chiseled Florida big man measured an impressive 6-10 (247 pounds and 7-1 ¾) in shoes, an inch taller than he measured at the Amare Stoudemire Camp in 2009. This is big for Young, who lacks the perimeter skills to play power forward in the NBA. While not a 7-footer, Young should be able to get by as a 6-10 center in the NBA. What was somewhat shocking is how small is standing reach is, at just 8-7 1/2, one of smallest ever measured for any NBA big man. The closest physical comparison we could come up with in the NBA is that of Carl Landry, who measured 6-8 1/2 in shoes, 248 pounds, with a 6-11 wingspan and a 8-6 1/2 standing reach. [Read Full Article]Patric Young Updated Scouting ReportApril 21, 2014Kyle Nelson

When we first wrote about Florida senior Patric Young in 2010, he already looked the part of an NBA player, with potential to spare. Four years later, his scouting report is more or less the same, but his resume is more impressive (watch his DX scouting video). Already a McDonald's All-American and a top-20 high school recruit, Young played in every game in his college career, which included three consecutive SEC Championships and 120 wins, alongside of being named SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year three times in a row and winning SEC Defensive Player of the Year as a senior. He also played a key role in Florida's Final Four run, particularly in its loss to national champion Connecticut, to the tune of 19 points and six rebounds.

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As the draft inches closer, however, scouts continue to wonder why such dominant performances were so few and far between, inviting the larger question of whether Young can continue to move toward a ceiling that many hoped he would have reached by now.

Young's physical profile has never been in question. At 6'9, he is undersized for the center position, but he compensates for that with a chiseled 247-pound frame and 7'1 wingspan. Likewise, Young possesses elite quickness, agility, mobility, and explosiveness, all of which situate him as one of the best overall athletes in the draft. His only shortcoming physically are his extremely small hands, which have hampered him from becoming the dominant rebounder his tools suggest he should be.

On the offensive end, Young remains limited, but continued to make incremental progress as a senior. Though his 11.0 points per game seem modest, he logged a career-high 17.7 points per 40 minutes pace adjusted while seeing the highest usage rate of his career. Though he continued to struggle with bouts of inconsistency, he looked more aggressive and involved as a senior, taking the most shots and free throws of his career. Yet, his increase in production came at the relatively small expense of efficiency, as he shot a career low 56% True Shooting percentage.

On film, it's easy to see why. According to Synergy, Young saw almost 94% of his looks around the basket, 56% of which were post-ups. Yet, he shot just 47% from the field on his post-up attempts Put simply, Young's post game did not improve all that much throughout his time in Gainesville. He still relies on a jump hook and is more effective the closer he is to the basket. Similarly, he shows some promise operating out of the pick-and-roll, even if he needs a relatively open lane to be effective. A serious issue lies in the fact that he oftentimes has little idea of what to do with the ball once he carves out space and receives the ball in the post. His rudimentary footwork, small hands, and limited fundamentals continue to hold him back, which doesn't bode well for his scoring potential at the NBA level.

Young is still at his best finishing off cuts, in transition, and while cleaning up his teammate's misses. He is an excellent finisher in transition and his 4.2 offensive rebounds per 40 minutes pace adjusted ranks sixth among prospects in our top-100. If anything, Young should be able to carve out a niche for himself based on sheer hustle.

Yet, for as raw as Young remains on the offensive end, he is one of the most intriguing post defenders in the draft. His numbers don't pop off the page and he is undersized for a center, but he projects as a very good NBA defender due to his unique combination of length, strength, athleticism, and fundamentals. For instance, Young is easily one of the best pick-and-roll defenders in college basketball, able to hedge quickly and stay in front of all but the quickest guards. He showed the versatility to guard most NCAA big men with outstanding lateral quickness to go along with his size, strength, and versatility. Perhaps most importantly, however, he plays with energy and aggressiveness and he should be able to translate his defensive prowess at the collegiate level to the NBA.

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It must be said, however, that for as good as Young is on defense, he never developed as a defensive rebounder. His 5.7 defensive rebounds per 40 minutes pace adjusted situates him 12th among centers in our top-100. That he ranks alongside of point guards DeAndre Kane and Shabazz Napier remains puzzling given the fact that he was bigger, stronger, and more athletic than almost every big man he faced throughout his college career.

Therefore, Young is ultimately a puzzling prospect. He has lottery-caliber physical tools and is an elite defensive prospect, but possesses very little in the ways of an offensive game. He is one of the best offensive rebounders in the draft and one of its worst defensive rebounders. Yet, by all accounts Young has excellent intangibles and is the type of player who should have little trouble fitting into most NBA locker rooms.

Thus, while there are big men with higher ceilings in this draft, Young seems like the type of player that has a good chance of making a long career in the NBA. As players like Kendrick Perkins and Joel Anthony continue to slug it out in the NBA, Young should get plenty of looks from playoff teams, even if he is currently projected as a second round pick on our mock draft. Although he will never be the type of player many expected of him coming out of high school, Young remains an intriguing prospect who could easily work his way up in the draft with good workouts and interviews. [Read Full Article]Top NBA Prospects in the SEC, Part 2: Patric Young VideoOctober 15, 2013

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Mike Schmitz is the video analyst for DraftExpress. Follow him on twitter and subscribe to the DraftExpress YouTube page. He will be breaking down the NBA draft in digital format all year long for us. [Read Full Article]Top NBA Draft Prospects in the SEC, Part Two (#2-5) October 24, 2012

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Kyle Nelson

Patric Young was a legitimate NBA prospect before he stepped foot on Florida's campus, a McDonald's All-American who was expected to make an immediate contribution for the Gators. Yet, he struggled initially, posting a remarkably unproductive freshman season that left scouts and fans alike scratching their heads. During his sophomore year, Young improved, but he still struggled with bouts of inconsistency. The question entering his junior year remains: will Patric Young's basketball ability ever catch up with his elite physical and athletic profile?

At first glance, it is easy to see why Young has been an NBA prospect since he was a teenager. Standing 6'9 with an excellent 249-pound frame and a long 7'1 wingspan, Young has looked the part of an NBA big man for quite some time. He also possesses an elite athletic profile, equipped with freakish explosiveness around the basket and excellent lateral quickness, and showing outstanding speed in transition. While technically undersized for an NBA center, Young's elite physical and athletic profiles suggest that he can probably defend either post-position at the next level.

Young is not a prolific scorer, posting just 15.6 points per 40 minutes pace adjusted last season. That is not to say that he was not, at times productive as evidenced in his 25 point performance against Arizona, 19 against Alabama, and 21 against top-ranked Kentucky. Furthermore, he increased his 2-point percentages from 55.6% as a freshman to an impressive 61.8% as a sophomore. He posted almost as many single digit-scoring nights as he did double digits, however, showing that while he showed flashes of dominance, he largely struggled to produce consistently.

This discrepancy is particularly vivid on film, where Synergy reveals that he finds the majority of his possessions in the post. Young does an excellent job of carving out space in the post, controlling entry passes, and finishing around the rim. The problem is that his footwork is not particularly advanced and he has only a few reliable post moves, primarily his jump hook, which he can launch with his right and left hands, and various combinations of spin moves and up-and-unders. His post-game ultimately remains basic and before he can approach his ceiling as a dominant post scorer, he must further develop his footwork and expand his post arsenal.

Despite his proficiency in the post, however, Young struggles with bouts of passivity, represented in the 12 games in which he attempted five or fewer shots. Another alarming trend is his extremely low 3.7 free throw attempts per 40 minutes pace adjusted; this is an improvement from 2.3 attempts per 40 minutes pace adjusted from his freshman year, but nevertheless rates him just outside of the bottom 10% of prospects in our top-100 rankings.

Where Young is dominant, however, is when he doesn't have to create his own shot. He runs the floor hard and throws down acrobatic dunks in transition while also showing the ability to finish off cuts to the basket. He is also a good offensive rebounder and he finds quite a few shots by outhustling his man in traffic and tipping in his teammates' misses. He also shows some potential as a finisher in the pick-and-roll, where he rolls to the basket extremely quickly and often finishes with an emphatic dunk. This aspect of his game, in particular, is where Amar'e Stoudemire comparisons seem most apt and scouts will be watching to see if he can further develop in this area.

Playing alongside Florida's shot-happy guards likely had plenty to do with his lack of offensive consistency, as it's difficult to say that his strengths were being showcased in the past two seasons with Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton playing such dominant roles. Young took just the sixth highest percentage of shots on the team last year, despite being by far their most efficient player. Now that Bradley Beal and Erving Walker have moved on, it is time for Young to show scouts that he can be more productive on a nightly basis while showing some development in terms of creating his own offense.

Defensively, Young's physical tools alone – his top-tier explosiveness, strength, lateral quickness, and length, in particular – allow him to be a competitive defender at this level, even if he is undersized for the NBA center position. Luckily, he also shows solid focus and energy on defense, guarding a variety of variety of NBA caliber post players and doing a fairly good job of holding his position and denying his man the ball. He is not outstanding guarding perimeter oriented big men, where he oftentimes fails to maintain his stance when taken off the dribble and struggles to close out on shooters. He also could stand to improve guarding the pick-and-roll, as he sometimes loses track of his man and allows open jump shots.

Finally, it's worth noting that while Young is hardly the type of rebounder one would expect given his size, strength, and athletic advantages at this level. Just as he did during his freshman season, he averaged just 5.7 defensive rebounds per 40 minutes pace adjusted as a sophomore, which ranks amongst the worst for center prospects in our top-100. His small hands are certainly a factor and, therefore, he really must work on his fundamentals and maintaining his focus to compensate.

While Young is likely to be drafted in the first round based on his physical attributes alone, there are quite a few questions that remain about what kind of player he can be at this level, let alone in the NBA. As he looks towards his junior year, Young must focus on refining his post game and improving his fundamentals and awareness across the board. Players with his tools are extremely rare, and it is really up to him to determine just how good he can be. Florida will look very different next season and Young should have more opportunities to assert himself as a viable offensive option. If he does, and Florida continues its winning ways, then expect him to shoot up draft boards come June. [Read Full Article]U-19 World Championship Player Evaluations, Part ThreeSeptember 1, 2011Jonathan Givony

Patric Young's production fluctuated greatly from game to game for Team USA at this Under-19 World Championship. He took turns alternating between flashes of brilliance and disappearance.

Young's impressive physical tools have never been in doubt. That was again true in Latvia. With a frame and vertical explosiveness similar to Amare Stoudemire, Young was responsible for some of the best highlights at the event.

Fireworks aside, Young was limited somewhat by his below average skill level and the lack of playmakers on his team. He was mostly relegated to finishing whatever balls he could get his hands on around the basket, converting an outstanding 72% of his 2-point attempts (second best at this event), mostly in the form of thunderous dunks.

Young also made a significant impact on the defensive end, playing with a tremendous energy level when fully dialed in. He took charges, controlled the glass and changed absolutely everything around the basket.

To make the next step in his development, Young will need to show some improvement with his post game and all around offensive polish. Coming off a mildly disappointing freshman year (or at least up until the last six weeks or so of the season), he will be asked to step up his production considerably with the graduation of frontcourt starters Vernon Macklin, Alex Tyus and Chandler Parsons. Judging by his performance here in Latvia, that's something he's more than capable of doing. [Read Full Article]adidas Nations Highlights and Interview: Patric YoungAugust 28, 2011A video profile featuring Florida power forward Patric Young from the adidas Nations Experience in Los Angeles.

[Read Full Article]FIBA Americas U-18 Championships: Top American ProspectsJuly 5, 2010The main post presence of this USA basketball squad, Patric Young confirmed much of what we wrote about him a few months ago at the McDonald's All-American game and even showed a few more wrinkles to his game.

He's still the same exceptionally gifted big man from a physical standpoint. He has a chiseled frame and excellent athleticism, making him a significant presence on the offensive glass and on the defensive end. He showed more flashes offensively than we thought he would, though, executing some interesting post moves, knocking down a mid-range jumper, passing intelligently out of double teams and finishing extremely well through contact.

It will be interesting to see how this translates next season when he plays for Florida. He's looking more and more like a top prospect at this point, especially when taking into consideration his rock-solid intangibles. [Read Full Article]Mcdonald's All-American Week Player Evaluations and InterviewsApril 5, 2010

From a physical standpoint, there may not have been a more impressive player in attendance at the McDonald's game than Florida commit Patric Young. He has good size at around 6-9, sports an incredibly chiseled frame and is a very good athlete on top of that, looking mobile and explosive, making him a fairly rare commodity.

Young doesn't seem to have any misconceptions about the type of player he is, which is a very good sign considering his profile. He's a force on the interior thanks to his terrific physical attributes, showing great toughness and a high intensity level, and having no problem throwing his weight around in the paint to get the job done. He rarely strays out onto the perimeter and doesn't seem too eager to show off his skill-level, showing a solid feel for the game and being very team oriented.

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Young will be able to contribute from day one in the SEC as a Kendrick Perkins-type rebounder, defender, screen-setter and finisher around the basket, as he's very effective in all those areas already and seems to have no problem playing that role.

He'll need to continue to round out his skill-set as his career progresses, though, which means improving his polish as a back to the basket scorer, developing his countermoves, improving his ability to step away from the basket on both ends of the floor, and improving his passing ability and all-around basketball IQ. That's something you could say about pretty much any big man his age, and Young seems to have the work ethic and intangibles needed to do it. [Read Full Article]2010 McDonald's High School All-American Dunk Contest VideosApril 2, 2010Fellow big man Patric Young—committed to Florida—followed him up, bringing a new degree of power to the contest, first with this pass off the side of the backboard from McCallum. It earned him a 62.

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His second dunk was even more impressive, as he came flying in from out of bounds, hung in the air for a while and then threw the ball in from the other side of the rim with tremendous power. The dunk was awarded a 69.